Integrated circuit device with field programmable optical array

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided to improve flexibility of optical signal transmission between integrated circuit devices, and more specifically data utilization circuits. More specifically, the integrated circuit devices may include a data utilization circuit communicatively coupled to a field programmable optical array (FPOA). In some embodiments, the FPOA may convert an electrical signal received from the data utilization to an optical signal, route the optical signal to an optical channel, and multiplex the optical signal with other optical signals routed to the optical channel. Additionally or alternatively, the FPOA may de-multiplex a multiplexed optical signal based on wavelength, route an optical signal included in the multiplexed optical signal to an electrical channel, convert the optical signal into an electrical signal, and output the electrical signal to the data utilization circuit via an electrical channel. In some embodiments, the FPOA may improve flexibility by performing such functions without reconfiguring the data utilization circuit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Under 35 U.S.C. § 120, this application is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/163,780 filed on Jan. 24, 2014, which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to integrated circuit devices and, moreparticularly, to optical data communication between integrated circuitdevices.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of these techniques, whichare described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to behelpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of thisdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Integrated circuit devices are often found in a variety of electronicsystems, such as computers, handheld devices, portable phones,televisions, and industrial control systems. In such electronic systems,the integrated circuit devices may provide various features such as dataprocessing and/or data storage. Accordingly, integrated circuit devicesmay include data processing circuits, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or other processing circuitry (e.g., CPU or GPU), and datastorage circuits, such as random access memory (RAM). As used herein, a“data utilization circuit” is intended to generally describe thecircuits (e.g., data storage circuits and data processing circuits) thatprovide features within an electronic system.

To provide the various features, data utilization circuits maycommunicate data with one another. For example, an FPGA may communicatedata to memory for storage, or memory may communicate a machine-readableinstruction to the FPGA for performing a particular process. In someembodiments, the various data utilization circuits may communicate datavia optical signals to improve data communication speeds and/ortransmission distances. For example, a first data utilization circuitmay output an electrical signal on an electrical channel, the electricalsignal may be converted to an optical signal, and the optical signal maybe transmitted to a second data utilization circuit via an opticalchannel.

In some embodiments, the data transmitted on each optical channel isbased on the data output on a corresponding electrical channel.Illustratively, the first data utilization circuit may output a firstelectrical signal including first data on a first electrical channel anda second electrical signal including second data on a second electricalchannel. The first electrical signal may then be converted to a firstoptical signal and transmitted to a second data utilization circuit viaa first optical channel, which corresponds to the first electricalchannel. Similarly, the second electrical signal may be converted to asecond optical signal and transmitted to a third data utilizationcircuit via a second optical channel, which corresponds to the secondelectrical channel. In such embodiments, optical signals transmitted onan optical channel may be modified by reconfiguring the data utilizationcircuits. For example, to transmit the second data to the second datautilization circuit, the first data utilization circuit may bereconfigured to output the second data on the first electrical channel.

However, it may be beneficial to improve the flexibility of the opticalsignal communication between data utilization circuits. For example, itmay be beneficial to route the second optical signal from the secondelectrical channel to the first optical channel without reconfiguringthe first data utilization circuit.

SUMMARY

A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. Itshould be understood that these aspects are presented merely to providethe reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and thatthese aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may notbe set forth below.

Embodiments of this disclosure relate to systems and methods forimproving flexibility and reconfigurability in optical signalcommunication between integrated circuit devices. To improve flexibilityand reconfigurability, an integrated circuit device may include a fieldprogrammable optical array (FPOA) communicatively coupled to a datautilization circuit. More specifically, the field programmable opticalarray may route data, multiplex data, and/or de-multiplex data withoutreconfiguring the data utilization circuit. For example, the fieldprogrammable optical array may route multiple optical signals to asingle optical channel to increase the bandwidth of the optical channelor route an optical signal to an optical channel based on the intendedrecipient of the optical signal. Accordingly, in some embodiments, thetechniques described herein may improve flexibility by enabling theoutput/input configuration (e.g., bandwidth) to be dynamically adjusted.Additionally, the techniques described herein may provide additionalfeatures (e.g., improved reliability) in specific use cases, such asredundant memory or switchover.

Various refinements of the features noted above may be made in relationto various aspects of this disclosure. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may be made individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of this disclosure alone or in any combination.The brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize thereader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of thisdisclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of this disclosure may be better understood upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electro-optical system that includes afirst integrated circuit device communicatively coupled to a secondintegrated circuit, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the first integrated circuit device of FIG. 1coupled to an interposer, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the first integrated circuit of FIG. 1including a data utilization circuit and a transmitting fieldprogrammable optical array, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram of a wavelength-division multiplexer withparallel outputs included in the field programmable optical array ofFIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram of a wavelength-division multiplexer withmultiplexed outputs included in the field programmable optical array ofFIG. 3, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4C is a block diagram of a wavelength-division multiplexer withhybrid outputs included in the field programmable optical array of FIG.3, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart describing a process for utilizing the fieldprogrammable optical array of FIG. 3 to transmit optical signals, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the first integrated circuit of FIG. 1including a data utilization circuit and a receiving field programmableoptical array, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart describing a process for utilizing the fieldprogrammable optical array of FIG. 6 to receive optical signals, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 8A is a block diagram of the first and second integrated circuit ofFIG. 1 communicating through four primary optical channels, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 8B is a block diagram of the first and second integrated circuit ofFIG. 1 communicating through three of the four primary optical channelsand a spare optical channel when the fourth primary optical channel isfaulty, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart describing a process for switchover from a faultyoptical channel to a spare optical channel, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an integrated circuit device coupled toredundant memory, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart describing a process for adjusting bandwidth ofvarious optical channels, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a plurality of integrated circuit devicescommunicatively coupled via field programmable optical arrays, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a datacenter utilizing field programmableoptical arrays, in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of this disclosure will be describedbelow. These described embodiments are only examples of the disclosedtechniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise descriptionof these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may notbe described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but maynevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of this disclosure, thearticles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one ormore of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having”are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additionalelements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should beunderstood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthis disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding theexistence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recitedfeatures.

As described above, integrated circuits devices, and more specificallydata utilization circuits, may generally be included in a wide range ofelectronic systems to provide various features, such as data storageand/or data processing. To facilitate these various features, datautilization circuits may communicate data between themselves via opticalsignals, which may improve bandwidth and transmission distances ascompared to electrical signals.

More specifically, a data utilization circuit may output data as anelectrical signal via an electrical channel. The electrical signal maythen be converted to an optical signal and transmitted via an opticalchannel. In some embodiments, the data transmitted on each opticalchannel may directly correspond to the data output on a specific (e.g.,preconfigured or predetermined) electrical channel. In such anembodiment, the data utilization circuit may be reconfigured (e.g.,reprogrammed) to output data via a specific electrical channel totransmit the data on an optical channel that corresponds to thatelectrical channel. However, it may be beneficial to improve theflexibility of the optical signal transmissions by, for example,enabling the routing of data to different optical channels withoutreconfiguring the data utilization circuit (e.g., without regard to whatelectrical channel the data is output on).

Accordingly, one embodiment of the present disclosure describes a systemthat includes a field programmable optical array (FPOA) communicativelycoupled to a data utilization circuit. The FPOA may convert anelectrical signal received from the data utilization circuit to a firstoptical signal, in which the optical signal has a first wavelength, androute the first optical signal to an optical channel. Additionally, theFPOA may multiplex the first optical signal with a second optical signalrouted to the optical channel, in which the second optical signalincludes a second wavelength. In other words, the FPOA may route dataoutput from the data utilization circuit to any optical channel, and mayeven multiplex (e.g., combine) the data output on multiple electricalchannels to a single or multiple optical channels.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure describes a system thatincludes a field programmable optical array (FPOA) communicativelycoupled to a data utilization circuit. The FPOA may de-multiplex amultiplexed optical signal including a first optical signal and a secondoptical signal, in which the first optical signal has a first wavelengthand the second optical signal has a second wavelength. Additionally, theFPOA may route the first optical signal to a first electrical channel,convert the first optical signal to a first electrical signal, andoutput the first electrical signal to the data utilization circuit viathe first electrical channel. In other words, the FPOA may de-multiplex(e.g., separate) data on an optical channel and route the data to one ormore electrical channels to be input into the data utilization circuit.In some embodiments, the routing, multiplexing, and/or de-multiplexingmay be performed in the FPOA without reconfiguring the data utilizationcircuit.

By way of introduction, FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of an electronicsystem 10 that includes a first integrated circuit device 12communicatively coupled to a second integrated circuit device 14. Morespecifically, the integrated circuits 12 and 14 are communicativelycoupled via one or more optical channels 16 that carry optical signalsto enable data transmission between the integrated circuits 12 and 14.For example, the integrated circuits 12 and 14 may be coupled viasixteen optical channels. In some embodiments, the optical channels 16may include optical fibers, made of glass or plastic, that carries orguides photons (e.g., visible or invisible light).

Additionally, as depicted, each integrated circuit device 12 or 14 alsoincludes a data utilization circuit 18 and a field programmable opticalarray (FPOA) 20. Although the depicted embodiment includes one datautilization circuit 18 and one FPOA 20 on each integrated circuitdevice, other embodiments may include multiple data utilization circuits18 and/or multiple FPOAs 20. For example, multiple data utilizationcircuits 18 may be coupled to (e.g., utilize) a single FPOA 20, or asingle data utilization circuit 18 may be coupled to (e.g., utilize)multiple FPOAs 20.

As described above, the data utilization circuit 18 may be a dataprocessing circuit, such as an FPGA, or a data storage circuit, such asmemory. To facilitate such features, the data utilization circuit 18 mayinclude one or more processors 22 and memory 24. The FPOA 20 may convertelectrical signals to optical signals and vice versa, transmit opticalsignals to another FPOA 20 via optical channels 16, receive opticalsignals from another FPOA 20 via optical channels 16, or any combinationthereof. In other words, the FPOA 20 may include an optical signaltransceiver 25 to transmit and/or receive optical signals. Moreover, aswill be described in more detail below, the FPOA 20 may route opticalsignals, multiplex multiple optical signals into a single opticalsignal, de-multiplex an optical signal into multiple optical signals, orany combination thereof. To facilitate these features, the FPOA 20 maysimilarly include one or processors 26 and memory 28.

Furthermore, as depicted, the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA20 are communicatively coupled. More specifically, the data utilizationcircuit 18 and the FPOA may be communicatively coupled via one or moreelectrical channels 30 that may carry electrical signals to enable datatransmission between the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20.For example, the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20 may becoupled via sixteen electrical channels 30. However, in otherembodiments, any suitable number electrical channels (e.g., thirty-twoelectrical channels 30) may be utilized.

Moreover, the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20 may be locatedin close proximity to one another. More specifically, because theoperation characteristics of the data utilization circuit 18 may varybased on the environment (e.g., temperature or external noise), the FPOA20 may determine the operation environment and adjust accordingly.Accordingly, as depicted, the FPOA 20 includes a sensor 29 to detectenvironmental conditions such as temperature. In other words, the FPOA20 may self-calibrate its operation.

For example, in some embodiments, the data utilization circuit 18 andthe FPOA 20 may be may be included on the same semiconductor chip (e.g.,directly integrated). In other words, the data utilization circuit 18and the FPOA 20 may be monolithically integrated. In such embodiments,the electrical channels 30 may be conductive paths etched into thesemiconductor chip. In other embodiments, the data utilization circuit18 and the FPOA 20 may be discrete semiconductor chips. In suchembodiments, the electrical channels 30 may be electrical wires (e.g.,electrical bus) or, when the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20are coupled to the same printed circuit board, conductive traces on theprinted circuit board.

Still further, in other embodiments, the data utilization circuit 18 andthe FPOA 20 may be connected via an interposer 32 (e.g., in a 2.5Dconfiguration), as depicted in FIG. 2. In other words, the datautilization circuit 18 and the FPOA may be heterogeneously integrated.More specifically, the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20 maycommunicate through microbumps 34 joined to the interposer 32. Themicrobumps 34 connect the data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20 tochip-to-chip interconnects 36 within the interposer 32. Thesechip-to-chip interconnects 36 provide communication channels throughvarious depths of the interposer 32. Furthermore, through-silicon vias(TSVs) 38 may connect certain of the microbumps 34 and/or chip-to-chipinterconnects 36 to C4 interconnects 40.

As described above, the FPOA 20 may include an optical signaltransceiver feature 25 to transmit and/or receive optical signals viaoptical channels 16. Accordingly, the FPOA 20 may be directly coupledthe optical channels 16. In some embodiments, the FPOA 20 mayadditionally be coupled to the optical channels 16 via a discreteoptical signal transceiver 42. As depicted, the discrete optical signaltransceiver 42 may be included within the interposer 32 and connected tothe FPOA 20 and data utilization circuit 18 by the chip-to-chipinterconnects 36. In other embodiments, the discrete optical signaltransceiver 42 may be coupled to the FPOA 20 and/or data utilizationcircuit 18 by wires, conductive traces, and the like.

When the FPOA 20 is connected to a discrete optical signal transceiver42, the discrete optical signal transceiver 42 may serve as an alternatepath for optical signals. For example, if the optical signal transceiver25 in the FPOA 20 malfunctions, optical signals may still be transmittedto/from the FPOA 20 via the discrete optical signal transceiver 42. Inother embodiments, if the FPOA 20 is malfunctioning, the FPOA may bebypassed and the data utilization circuit 18 may utilize the discreteoptical signal transceiver 42 to convert between electrical signals andoptical signals.

As described above, the FPOA 20 may facilitate transmitting opticalsignals from one data utilization circuit 18 to another. Accordingly, atransmitting FPOA 20A may include modulators 44 to convert electricalsignals to optical signals, a wavelength router (WR) 46 to route theoptical signals, and a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) 48 tomultiplex optical signals, as depicted in FIG. 3. The functionality ofeach of these components, which will be described in more detail below,may be controlled by control logic 50. In some embodiments, such as thedepicted embodiment, the control logic 50 may be included in the FPOA20. Accordingly, the control logic 50 may be discrete control logic,such as an application specific integrated circuit, or non-transitorymachine-readable instructions stored in the FPOA memory 28 and executedby the processor 26. In other embodiments, the control logic 50 may beincluded in the data utilization circuit 18 as non-transitorymachine-readable instructions stored in the data utilization memory 24and executed by the processor 22.

As described above, the data utilization circuit 18 may output data aselectrical signals. To help illustrate, the data utilization circuit 18will be described as generally including core logic 52 and digitaldrivers 54. As used herein, the core logic 52 describes the data storageand/or data processing functions provided by the data utilizationcircuit 18. In other words, the core logic 52 may generate data to beoutput when the data utilization circuit 18 is a data processingcircuit, or may retrieve data to be output when the data utilizationcircuit 18 is a data storage circuit. Accordingly, the core logic 52 mayinclude the data utilization processor 22 and/or memory 24.

Additionally, the digital drivers 54 may output the datagenerated/retrieved by the core logic 52 as electrical signals. Morespecifically, the electrical signals may be output on the electricalchannels 30. In some embodiments, each digital driver 54 may outputelectrical signals on a particular electrical channel 30. In otherwords, the number of digital drivers 54 may be equal to the number ofelectrical channels 30. For example, a first digital driver 54A mayoutput electrical signals on a first electrical channel 30A and a seconddigital driver 54B may output electrical signal on a second electricalchannel 30B. As described above, in some embodiments, the datautilization circuit 18 may output electrical signals on sixteenelectrical channels 30. In such an embodiment, the data utilizationcircuit 18 may include sixteen digital drivers 54. In other embodiments,each digital driver 54 may selectively output electrical signals onmultiple electrical channels. In other words, the number of digitaldriver 54 may be less than the number of electrical channels 30.

As described above, the modulators 44 may convert electrical signalsoutput by the data utilization circuit 18 into optical signals.Accordingly, as depicted, each modulator 44 may be coupled to anelectrical channel 30 and include a laser 56 to vary the lighttransmittance time within each optical signal period (e.g., onewavelength). In other words, the modulators 44 may pulse width modulatethe laser 56 to encode the optical signal on the carrier wavelength. Inother embodiments, the modulator 44 may additionally or alternativelyamplitude modulate the laser 56 to encode the optical signal on thecarrier wavelength. Accordingly, the modulators 44 may convert theelectrical signals into a respective sixteen optical signals. Moreover,as will be described in more detail below, each optical signal mayprovide a specific data rate (e.g., 25 Gb/s). Accordingly, multipleoptical signals may proportionally increase the data rate. For example,four optical signals may have a combined data rate of 100 Gb/s.

Furthermore, optical signals generated by the modulators 44 may bewavelength modulated optical signals. In other words, each modulator 44may generate optical signals with a specific wavelength, which may bethe same as or vary from the wavelength of the optical signals generatedby the other modulators. In some embodiments, the control logic 50 mayinstruct the modulators 44 to generate optical signals with a specificwavelength between 1271-1351 nanometers. As will be described in moredetail below, utilizing varying wavelengths may facilitate multiplexingmultiple optical signals onto a single optical channel.

As described above, the wavelength router 46 may route the opticalsignals to optical channels 16. Accordingly, as depicted, the wavelengthrouter 46 may be coupled between the electrical channels 30 and theoptical channels 16. As used herein, an “electrical channel” is intendedto describe the channel between the data utilization circuit 18 and thewavelength router 46. In other words, even though the modulator 44converts an electrical signal into an optical signal, the optical signalmay continue on the electrical channel before reaching the wavelengthrouter 46.

In some embodiments, the control logic 50 may instruct the wavelengthrouter 46 to route an optical signal to a specific optical channel 16based on the data utilization circuit 18 the optical signal is intendedto be transmitted to. For example, when a first optical channel 16Aoutputs to a first data utilization circuit and a second optical channel16B outputs to a second data utilization circuit, the wavelength router46 may route a first optical signal intended for the first datautilization circuit to the first optical channel 16A and a secondoptical signal intended for the second data utilization circuit to thesecond optical channel 16B. In the described example, the first opticalsignal may be converted from an electrical signal output on the firstelectrical channel 30A or the second electrical channel 30B. In otherwords, the wavelength router 46 may increase the flexibility of the FPOA20 by enabling data (e.g., on optical signals) to be routed to differentoptical channels 16 without reconfiguring the data utilization circuit18.

Moreover, in some embodiments, the wavelength router 46 may route oneoptical signal to multiple optical channels 16. In other words, thewavelength router 46 may duplicate optical signals in addition to merelyrouting optical signals.

Accordingly, the wavelength router 46 may adjust the bandwidth of eachoptical channel 16 as desired via routing of optical signals.Illustratively, because each electrical signal output by the datautilization circuit 18 communicates data at some data rate (e.g., 25Gb/s), each optical signal converted from the electrical signals maycommunicate data at that data rate (e.g., 25 Gb/s). Thus, if one opticalsignal is routed to an optical channel 16, the optical channel 16 mayhave a bandwidth of that data rate (e.g., 25 Gb/s). On the other hand,if the two optical signals (e.g., multiplexed together) are routed tothe same optical channel 16, the optical channel 16 may have a bandwidthof twice the data rate (e.g., 50 Gb/s).

To facilitate the bandwidth adjustment, when the wavelength router 46routes multiple optical signals to an optical channel 16, the wavelengthdivision multiplexer 48 may multiplex (e.g., combine) the opticalsignals. Accordingly, as depicted, the wavelength division multiplexer48 is coupled on the optical channels 16. More specifically, thewavelength division multiplexer 48 may combine optical signals withdiffering wavelengths onto a single optical channel 16 because light mayinclude multiple frequencies (e.g., wavelengths per second) that do notinterfere with one another. For example, the wavelength divisionmultiplexer 48 may multiplex a first optical signal with a wavelength of1300 nanometers with a second optical signal with a wavelength of 1310nanometers. In other words, the wavelength router 46 and/or thewavelength division multiplexer 48 may increase the flexibility (e.g.,scalability) of the FPOA 20 by enabling the bandwidth adjustment on eachoptical channel 16 without reconfiguring the data utilization circuit18.

To help illustrate, three interchangeable optical signal outputconfigurations (e.g., different bandwidth configurations) are describedin FIG. 4A-4C. More specifically, FIG. 4A describes a parallel outputconfiguration, FIG. 4B describes a multiplexed output configuration, andFIG. 4C describes a hybrid output configuration (e.g., combination ofparallel and multiplexed configurations). As depicted, eachconfiguration describes the wavelength of the optical signal or signalscarried on the first optical channel 16A, the second optical channel16B, and an nth optical channel 16C. It should be noted that althoughother optical channels 16 (e.g., thirteen other optical channels) arenot explicitly depicted, they may operate according to the generaloutput scheme of each configuration.

As described above, FIG. 4A describes a parallel output configuration.As depicted, the first optical channel 16A, the second optical channel16B, and the nth optical channel 16C may each carry an optical signalwith a wavelength of 1310 nanometers. In other embodiments, thewavelength of the optical signals carried on each optical channel 16 mayvary from one another. For example, the first optical channel 16 maycarry an optical signal with a wavelength of 1300 nanometers and thesecond optical channel may carry an optical with a wavelength of 1320nanometers. In other words, in a parallel output configuration, eachoptical channel 16 may carry a single optical signal. Accordingly, eachoptical channel 16 may have a bandwidth of 25 Gb/s.

Additionally, as described above, FIG. 4B describes a multiplexed outputconfiguration. As depicted, the first optical channel 16A carriesmultiple optical signals each with different wavelengths between 1271nanometers and 1351 nanometers, and the second optical channel 16B andthe nth optical channel 16C do not carry optical signals. In otherwords, all of the data output by the data utilization circuit 18 may becommunicated via the first optical channel 16A. Accordingly, whensixteen optical signals are output on the first optical channel 16A, thefirst optical channel 16A may have a bandwidth of sixteen times the datarate of a single channel (e.g., 16*25 Gb/s or 400 Gb/s).

Furthermore, as described above, FIG. 4C describes a hybrid outputconfiguration. As depicted, the first optical channel 16A carries asingle optical signal with a wavelength of 1310 nanometers, the secondoptical channel 16B does not carry optical signals, and the nth opticalchannel 16C carries multiple optical signals each with differentwavelengths between 1271 nanometers and 1351 nanometers. The otheroptical channels 16 (not depicted) may similarly also carry no opticalsignals, a single optical signal, or multiple optical signals. Moreover,as will be described in more detail below, the bandwidth of each opticalchannel 16 may be adjusted based on changing desires. In other words,each optical channel 16 may dynamically switch between carrying nooptical signals, a single optical signal, or multiple optical signals.Accordingly, the FPOA 20 may transmit data at varying differentbandwidths on each optical channel 16 substantially simultaneously.

Based on the FPOA 20 described above, FIG. 5 describes a process 58 fortransmitting optical signals. As depicted, the process 58 includesreceiving an electrical signal (process block 60), converting theelectrical signal into an optical signal (process block 62), routing theoptical signal to an optical channel 16 (process block 64), multiplexingthe optical signal with other optical signals routed to the opticalchannel (process block 66), and transmitting the optical signal (processblock 68).

More specifically, the FPOA 20 may receive the electrical signal fromthe data utilization circuit 18 via an electrical channel (process block60). As described above, the electrical signal may include datagenerated/retrieved by the core logic 52 and output by the digitaldrivers 54. The control logic 50 may then instruct the modulator 44 toconvert the electrical signal into an optical signal (process block 62).As described above, optical signals with differing wavelengths may bemultiplexed together. Accordingly, the control logic 50 may instruct themodulator 44 to generate an optical signal with a specific wavelength.

In some embodiments, the specific wavelength may be based at least inpart on which optical channel 16 the optical signal will be routed to,environmental conditions, the wavelength and/or number of other opticalsignals that will be routed to that optical channel 16, the data to becommunicated on via the optical signal, a default wavelength (e.g., 1310nanometers), the data utilization circuit 18 that will receive theoptical signal, or any combination thereof. For example, if the data tobe represented is largely digital “1,” the control logic 50 may select ashorter wavelength to reduce the amount of time the laser 56 will betransmitting light (e.g., “on”). Accordingly, the control logic 50 maydetermine such factors, for example by polling the components (e.g.,sensor 29) of the FPOA 20 and/or the data utilization circuits 18communicatively coupled to the FPOA 20 (e.g., both the transmitting andreceiving data utilization circuits 18).

The control logic 50 may then instruct the wavelength router 46 to routethe optical signal to a specific optical channel (process block 64). Asdescribed above, the wavelength router 46 may route the optical signalto an optical channel 16 based on the intended recipient (e.g., datautilization circuit 18) of the optical signal. For example, when a firstoptical channel 16A outputs to a first data utilization circuit and asecond optical channel 16B outputs to a second data utilization circuit,the wavelength router 46 may route a first optical signal intended forthe first data utilization circuit to the first optical channel 16A anda second optical signal intended for the second data utilization circuitto the second optical channel 16B. In some embodiments, multiple opticalchannels 16 may output to the same data utilization circuit 18. In suchan embodiment, the optical signal may be routed to any of the multipleoptical channels 16 or be routed to a specific one of the multipleoptical channels 16 based at least in part on the type of data. Forexample, when one of the multiple optical channels 16 is dedicated tostatus data, an optical signal including status data may be routed thatthe dedicated status optical channel.

The control logic 50 may then instruct the wavelength divisionmultiplexer 48 to multiplex the optical signal with other opticalsignals routed to the same optical channel 16 (process block 66). As canbe appreciated, when only one optical signal is routed to an opticalchannel 16 (e.g., in a parallel configuration), the control logic 50 mayinstruct the wavelength division multiplexer 48 to leave the opticalsignal alone. The control logic 50 may then instruct the FPOA 20 totransmit the optical signals via the optical channels 16 in one of theoutput configurations described above (e.g., parallel, multiplexed, orhybrid).

On the other side, as described above, the FPOA 20 may facilitatereceiving optical signals transmitted from another data utilizationcircuit 18. Accordingly, the receiving FPOA 20B may include thewavelength division multiplexer (WDM) 48 to de-multiplex opticalsignals, the wavelength router (WR) 46 to route the optical signals, andphotodiodes to convert optical signals to electrical signals, asdepicted in FIG. 6. It should be noted that although the transmittingFPOA 20A and the receiving FPOA 20B are described separately, they maybe included in the same FPOA 20 and share components. For example, thewavelength division multiplexer 48, the wavelength router 46, theelectrical channels 30, the optical channels 16, or any combinationthereof may be utilized in both the transmission and reception of data.Additionally or alternatively, the FPOA 20 may include separatewavelength division multiplexers 48 and wavelength routers 46 fortransmission and reception of optical signals. The functionality of eachof these components may be controlled by control logic 50, which asdescribed above, may be included in the FPOA 20 or the data utilizationcircuit 18.

As described above, the data utilization circuit 18 may receive data aselectrical signals. To help illustrate, the data utilization circuit 18will be describes as generally including the core logic 52 and digitalreceivers 70. As described above, the core logic 52 may include the datastorage and/or data processing functions. In other words, the datautilization circuit 18 may receive data for processing in the core logic52 when the data utilization circuit 18 is a data processing circuit, ormay receive data to be stored in the core logic 52, and morespecifically memory 24, when the data utilization circuit 18 is a datastorage circuit.

More specifically, the digital receivers 70 may receive the data to beprocessed/stored by the core logic 52 as electrical signals. In someembodiments, each digital receiver may receive electrical signals on aparticular electrical channel 30. In other words, the number of digitalreceivers 70 may be equal to the number of electrical channels 30. Forexample, a first digital receiver 70A may receive electrical signalsfrom a first electrical channel 30A and a second digital receiver 70Bmay receive electrical signals from a second electrical channel 30B. Insome embodiments, the data utilization circuit 18 may include sixteendigital receivers 70 to receive electrical signals from sixteenelectrical channels 30. In other embodiments, each digital receiver 70may receive electrical signals on multiple electrical channels. Itshould be noted that although the digital drivers 54 and digitalreceivers 70 are separately described, in some embodiments, they may becombined as a digital transceiver.

To facilitate communicating electrical signals to the data utilizationcircuit 18 when the FPOA 20 receives optical signals, the wavelengthdivision multiplexer 48 may de-multiplex received optical signals.Accordingly, as depicted, the wavelength division multiplexer is coupledon the optical channels 16. More specifically, as described above,multiple optical signals may be multiplexed together (e.g., combined) onan optical channel 16. Thus, the wavelength division multiplexer 48 mayde-multiplex (e.g., separate) the optical signals based on thewavelengths of the optical signals. For example, if an optical channelreceives a multiplexed optical signal including a first optical signalwith a wavelength of 1300 nanometers and a second optical signal with awavelength of 1310 nanometers, the wavelength division multiplexer 48may separate the first optical signal and second optical signal based ontheir differing wavelengths.

As described above, the wavelength router 46 may route de-multiplexedoptical signals to the various electrical channels 30. Accordingly, asdepicted, the wavelength router 46 may be coupled between the opticalchannels 16 and the electrical channels 30. As described above,“electrical channels” is intended to describe the channel between thewavelength router 46 and the data utilization circuit 18. In otherwords, the wavelength router 46 may route an optical signals to anelectrical channel 30.

More specifically, the wavelength router 46 may route an optical signalto a specific electrical channel 30 based on a predeterminedconfiguration. In other words, the wavelength router 46 may route theoptical signal to an electrical channel 30 that the data utilizationcircuit 18 is expects to receive the data on. For example, the datautilization circuit 18 may expect to receive all status data at thefirst digital receiver 70A and to receive all measured data at thesecond digital receiver 70B. Accordingly, the wavelength router 46 mayroute an optical signal containing status data to the first electricalchannel 30A and an optical signal containing measured data to the secondelectrical channel 30B.

Additionally or alternatively, the wavelength router 46 may considerother factors, such as availability of the electrical channel (e.g.,whether carrying other electrical signals) and/or functionality of theelectrical channel 30 or digital receiver 70. For example, the opticalsignals with a 1310 nanometer wavelength may be routed to an electricalchannel 30 that includes a photodiode 72 suitable for converting 1310nanometer optical signals. Thus, the control logic 50 may determine thetype of data on each optical signal, determine the actual data on eachoptical signal, the availability/functionality of each electricalchannel 30, the configuration of the data utilization circuit 18, or anycombination thereof. In other words, the wavelength router 46 mayimprove the flexibility of the FPOA 20 by enabling data to be routed todifferent electrical channels 30, and more specifically differentdigital receivers 70, without reconfiguring the data utilization circuit18.

As described above, the photodiodes 72 may convert optical signals intoelectrical signals. Accordingly, as depicted, the photodiodes 72 may becoupled to the electrical channels 30. More specifically, thephotodiodes 72 may convert the optical signal (e.g., light) into anelectrical signal by varying the current or voltage output by thephotodiode 72. For example, a digital “0” (e.g., light transmissionbelow the lower light transmission threshold) may be indicated byoutputting a voltage below or equal to a lower voltage threshold, suchas −100 mV, and a digital “1” (e.g., light transmission above the upperlight transmission threshold) may be indicated by outputting a voltageabove a higher voltage threshold, such as 100 mV. In some embodiments,the data extracted from a multiplexed optical signal may be received bythe data utilization circuit 18 substantially simultaneously and inparallel.

Based on the FPOA 20 described above, FIG. 7 describes a process 74 forreceiving optical signals. As depicted, the process 74 includesreceiving an optical signal (process block 76), de-multiplexing theoptical signal (process block 78), routing the optical signal to anelectrical channel (process block 80), converting the optical signal toan electrical signal (process block 82), and transmitting the electricalsignal (process block 84).

More specifically, the FPOA 20 may receive the optical signal fromanother data utilization circuit 18 via an optical channel 16 (processblock 76). As described above, the optical signals may include data tobe processed/stored by the core logic 52. If the optical signal includesmultiple optical signals (e.g., with different wavelengths), the controllogic 50 may then instruct the wavelength division multiplexer 48 tode-multiplex the optical signal (process block 78). If not, the controllogic 50 may instruct the wavelength division multiplexer 48 to leavethe optical signal alone.

The control logic 50 may then instruct the wavelength router 46 to routethe optical signal to a specific electrical channel (process block 80).As described above, the wavelength router 46 may route the opticalsignals to an electrical channel 30 based on the intended recipient(e.g., digital receiver 70) of the data or any number of other factors.For example, in some embodiments, the electrical channel 30 routed tomay be based upon the type of data transmitted, the contents of the datatransmitted, the configuration of the digital receiver, the availabilityof an electrical channel 30, the functionality of the electricalchannel/digital receiver 70, or any combination thereof. The controllogic 50 may then instruct the photodiodes 72 to convert optical signalto an electrical signal (process block 82) and instruct the FPOA 20 totransmit the electrical signals to the data utilization circuit 18 viathe electrical channels 30 (process block 84).

With the preceding in mind, it should be appreciated that the techniquesdescribed herein may provide improved flexibility of optical signaltransmission between data utilization circuits. For example, asdescribed above, the FPOA 20 may enable data to be routed betweenmultiple optical channels, enable the bandwidth of each optical channel16 to be dynamically adjusted, enable the FPOA 20 to self-calibrate, orany combination thereof without reconfiguring the data utilizationcircuit 18. As will be described in more detail below, the techniquesdescribed herein may additionally provide improved functionality invarious use cases.

One such use case is switchover, which may improve the reliability ofoptical signal transmission. As used herein, “switchover” is intended todescribe switching transmission of data from a faulty optical channel toa non-faulty (e.g., spare) optical channel. To help illustrate, FIGS. 8Aand 8B depict the first integrated circuit device 12 communicativelycoupled to the second integrated circuit device 14, which both generallyinclude a data utilization circuit 18 and the FPOA 20 described above,via five optical channels 16. More specifically, FIG. 8A describes theelectronic system 10 before switchover (e.g., before a faulty opticalchannel is detected) and FIG. 8B describes the electronic system 10after switchover (e.g., after a faulty optical channel is detected).

Before switchover, the first integrated circuit device 12 and the secondintegrated circuit may communicate data (e.g., optical signals) via fourof the optical channels, utilizing the fifth optical channel as a spare,as depicted in FIG. 8A. As described herein, the four optical channelsare referred to as “primary” optical channels 16D and the fifth opticalchannel is referred to as a “spare” optical channel 16E. When a fault onone of the primary optical channels 16D (e.g., faulty optical channel16F) is detected, the data intended to be transmitted on the faultyoptical channel 16F may be switched over to the spare optical channel16E, as depicted in FIG. 8B. In some embodiments, the control logic 50in the FPOAs 20 may determine when an optical channel 16 is faulty. Forexample, the control logic 50 may determine that an optical channel 16is faulty during handshaking between the integrated circuit devices 12and 14 when a response to a transmitted signal is not received within aset amount of time (e.g., timeout).

Although it may not be uncommon to utilize a spare optical channel 16E,the present techniques enable the switchover to take place withoutreconfiguring either data utilization circuits 18. To help illustrate,data is intended to be transmitted from a specific digital driver 54, ina first data utilization circuit 18, to a specific digital receiver 70,in a second data utilization circuit 18, via a primary optical channel16E. Thus, when the optical channel is determined to be a faulty opticalchannel 16, the wavelength routers 46 on both sides of the datatransmission may make the appropriate routing adjustments to enable thefirst data utilization circuit 18 to continue outputting the data fromthe same digital driver 54, and the second data utilization 18 circuitto continue receiving the data at the same digital receiver 70.

In other embodiments, the techniques may enable switchover even withoutthe use of a spare optical channel 16E. For example, the data intendedfor the faulty optical channel 16F may be routed to another primaryoptical channel 16D and the data may be multiplexed together andtransmitted via the non-faulty primary optical channel 16D. In otherwords, the FPOA 20 may improve the flexibility (e.g., reliability) ofoptical signal transmission by enabling the FPOA 20 in each integratedcircuit device 12 and 14 to both detect the fault and remedy the faultwithout reconfiguring the data utilization circuits 18.

Based on the above description, FIG. 9 describes a process 86 forperforming switch over utilizing the techniques described herein. Asdepicted, the process 86 includes detecting a faulty optical channel(process block 88), routing an optical signal to a non-faulty (e.g.,spare) optical channel (process block 90), and transmitting the opticalsignal via the spare optical channel (process block 92).

More specifically, as described above, the control logic 50 in each FPOA20 may detect a faulty optical channel 16F (process block 88). Forexample, the control logic 50 may detect the faulty optical channel 16Fwhen a signal (e.g., response) is not received within an allotted time(e.g., timeout). Additionally, in some embodiments, when one of theFPOAs 20 detects a fault, it may utilize one of the non-faulty opticalchannels to communicate the status of the faulty optical channel 16F tothe other FPOA 20. Furthermore, the FPOAs 20 may collectively agree on acontingency plan, such as whether to switchover to a spare opticalchannel 16E or to switchover to one of the other primary opticalchannels 16D. Based on the agreed routing, the wavelength routers 46 mayroute the optical signal to the spare optical channel 16E or anothernon-faulty optical channel (process block 90). The FPOAs 20 may thencommunicate data on the spare optical channel 16E or another non-faultyoptical channel (process block 92).

Another use case is redundant memory (e.g., redundant data storagedevices), which may also improve the reliability of datastorage/retrieval. As used herein, “redundant memory” is intended todescribe utilizing multiple storage devices to store substantially thesame data. To help illustrate, FIG. 10 depicts the first integratedcircuit device 12 coupled to redundant memory 94. As depicted, firstintegrated circuit device 12 is communicatively coupled to a first datastorage device 96 and a second storage device 98 (e.g., data utilizationcircuits 18) via a first FPOA 20C, and is communicatively coupled to athird data storage device 100 and a fourth data storage device (e.g.,data utilization circuits 18) via a second FPOA 20D. More specifically,the first integrated circuit device 12 is coupled to the first FPOA 20Cvia a first optical channel 16A, the first FPOA 20C is coupled to thefirst data storage device 96 via a first electrical channel 30A, and thefirst FPOA 20 is coupled to the second data storage device 98 via asecond electrical channel 30B. Additionally, the first integratedcircuit device 12 is coupled to the second FPOA 20D via a second opticalchannel 16B, the second FPOA 20D is coupled to the third data storagedevice via a third electrical channel 30C, and the second FPOA 20D iscoupled to the fourth data storage device via a fourth electricalchannel 30D. It should be noted that although the present embodiment isdescribed as utilizing single optical and electrical channels, otherembodiments may include multiple optical and/or multiple electricalchannels.

As described above, the redundant memory 94 may store substantially thesame data in multiple storage devices (e.g., storage devices 96-102).Illustratively, in one embodiment, the first storage device 96 and thethird storage device 100 may store substantially the same data, and thesecond storage device 98 and the fourth storage device 102 may storesubstantially the same data. Accordingly, when the integrated circuitdevice 12 requests a specific piece of data, both of the storage devices(e.g., first and third storage devices 96 and 100, or second and fourthstorage devices 98 and 102) that have stored the data may transmit thedata to the first integrated circuit device 12. For example, if therequested data is stored in the first and third storage devices 96 and100, the first FPOA 20C may route the data from the first electricalchannel 30A to the first optical channel 16A and the second FPOA 20D mayroute the data from the third electrical channel 30C to the secondoptical channel 16B. Similarly, if the requested data is stored in thesecond and fourth storage devices 98 and 102, the first FPOA 20C mayroute the data from the second electrical channel 30B to the firstoptical channel 16A and the second FPOA 20D may route the data from thefourth electrical channel 30D to the second optical channel 16B.

On the other side, when the first integrated circuit device 12 stores aspecific piece of data in a storage device, the data may also be storedin a related (e.g., redundant pair) storage device. For example, if thedata is to be stored in the first storage device 96, the first FPOA 20Cmay route the data from the first optical channel 16A to the firstelectrical channel 30A and the second FPOA 20C may route the data fromthe second optical channel 16B to the third electrical channel 30C.Similarly, if the data is to be stored in the second storage device 98,the first FPOA 20C may route the data from the first optical channel 16Ato the second electrical channel 30B and the second FPOA 20D may routethe data from the second optical channel 16B to the fourth electricalchannel 30D.

Thus, the FPOAs 20 may allocate the bandwidth of the optical channels byrerouting the connections between the optical channels and the variouselectrical channels based on which storage device has specific datastored and/or which storage device specific data is intended to bestored in. For example, the first and second FPOAs 20C and 20D, and morespecifically their respective control logic 50, may determine whichstorage device 96-102 has stored requested data and/or is intended tostore data. In other words, the FPOAs 20 may improve the reliability ofdata storage/retrieval by enabling the FPOAs 20 to reroute theconnections (e.g., allocate bandwidth) with the redundant storagedevices without reconfiguring the integrated circuit device or thestorage devices 96-102.

In other embodiments, the FPOAs 20C and 20D may split (e.g., allocate)the bandwidth of the optical channels between the storage devices 96-102(e.g., when the first integrated circuit device 12 is coupled to thefirst and second FPOAs via multiple optical channels). For example, thefirst FPOA 20C may allocate a larger number of optical signals to thefirst storage device 96 as compared to the second storage device 98 toprioritize transmission to/from the first storage device 96.

Based on the above description, FIG. 11 describes a general process 104for dynamically adjusting bandwidth that may be utilized in theredundant memory use case as well as other use cases describe herein. Asdepicted, the process 104 includes determining a desire to transmit databetween a first data utilization circuit and a second data utilizationcircuit (process block 106), converting the data to an optical signal(process block 108), routing the optical signal to a first opticalchannel (process block 110), determining a desire to transmit databetween the first data utilization circuit and a third data utilizationcircuit (process block 112), converting the data to an optical signal(process block 114), and routing the optical signal to a second opticalchannel (process block 116).

Illustratively, FIG. 12 describes a network of integrated circuitdevices use case that may utilize the bandwidth allocation process 104.As depicted, a first integrated circuit device 12A, a second integratedcircuit device 12B, a third integrated circuit device 12C, and a fourthintegrated circuit device 12D are each communicatively coupled to oneanother. Accordingly, by utilizing the techniques described herein, eachof the integrated circuit devices 12A-12D may dynamically adjust thedata communication bandwidth with each of the other integrated circuitdevice 12A-12D.

As depicted, the first integrated circuit device 12A is communicativelycoupled to the second integrated circuit device 12B via a firstplurality of optical channels 16A, to the third integrated circuitdevice 12C via a second plurality of optical channels 16B, and to thefourth integrated circuit device 12D via a third plurality of opticalchannels 16C. Accordingly, the first integrated circuit device 12A mayprioritize the data transmission bandwidth through the routing of theoptical signals. For example, if the first integrated circuit device 12Awanted to prioritize transmission of data to the second integratedcircuit device 12B, the FPOA 20 in the first integrated circuit devicemay route all or a majority of the optical signals to the firstplurality of optical channels 16A. Additionally, in some embodiments,the remaining optical signals may be routed to the second plurality ofoptical channels 16B and the third plurality of optical channels 16C inany configuration, which may take into account a prioritization betweenthe third integrated circuit device 12C and the fourth integratedcircuit device 12D.

Furthermore, FIG. 13 depicts a data center use case that may utilize thebandwidth allocation process 104. As depicted, client computing devices(e.g., data utilization circuits) 118 may be communicatively coupled toone another via data centers 120. More specifically, as depicted, thedata centers 120 include client FPOAs 122 communicatively coupled to theclient computing device 118 via electrical channels 30 or opticalchannels 16, and a switch FPOA 124 communicatively coupled to the clientFPOAs 122 via optical channels 16. Additionally, the switch FPOAs 124are communicatively coupled via optical channels 16. Accordingly, byutilizing the techniques described herein, the client FPOAs 122 and theswitch FPOAs 124 may dynamically adjust their respective datatransmission bandwidths, for example, to prioritize communicationbetween particular client computing devices 118.

To help illustrate, the data transmission bandwidth may be prioritizedfor the transmission of data from a first client computing device 118Ato a second client computing device 118B. More specifically, a firstclient FPOA 122A may route data transmitted from the first clientcomputing device 118 to all or a majority of a first plurality ofoptical channels 16A coupled to a first switch FPOA 124A, the firstswitch FPOA 124A may route the data to all or a majority of a secondplurality of optical channels 16B coupled to a second switch FPOA 124B,and the second switch FPOA 124B may route the data to all or a majorityof a third plurality of optical channels coupled to a second client FPOA122B, which may then transmit the data to the second client computingdevice 118B. In other embodiments, the exact bandwidth allocation (e.g.,optical signal routing) may be balanced between each of the clientcomputing devices 118.

Technical effects of the present disclosure include improvingflexibility of optical signal communication between integrated circuitdevices, and more specifically data utilization circuits. Morespecifically, a FPOA 20 may improve flexibility by enabling theoutput/input configuration (e.g., bandwidth) to be dynamically adjusted.For example, the FPOA 20 may route no optical signals to an opticalchannel, one optical signal to the optical channel, or multiple opticalsignals to the optical channel without reconfiguring the datautilization circuit 18. Additionally, the ability to adjust theoutput/input configuration may provide added features in various usecases. For example, the FPOA 20 may detect a faulty optical channel androute data to a non-faulty channel to improve reliability.

While the embodiments set forth in the present disclosure may besusceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specificembodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and havebeen described in detail herein. However, it should be understood thatthe disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particular formsdisclosed. The disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents,and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosureas defined by the following appended claims. Moreover,means-plus-function or step-plus-function construction is not intendedunless a claim recites “means for” or “step for” followed by a function.Recitations such as “configured to” are intended to define the operationof claim elements without invoking means-plus-function orstep-plus-function construction.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising a field programmable opticalarray, wherein the field programmable optical array comprises: awavelength router communicatively coupled between a first electricalchannel and a first optical channel; a wavelength division multiplexercoupled on the first optical channel; and control logic communicativelycoupled to the wavelength router and the wavelength divisionmultiplexer, wherein the control logic is programmed to: when the fieldprogrammable optical array receives a first electrical signal via thefirst electrical channel: instruct the wavelength router to route afirst optical signal generated on the first electrical channel based atleast in part on the first electrical signal from the first electricalchannel to the first optical channel; and instruct the wavelengthdivision multiplexer to multiplex the first optical signal with a secondoptical signal when the second optical signal is routed to the firstoptical channel; and when the field programmable optical array receivesa third optical signal via the first optical channel: instruct thewavelength division multiplexer to de-multiplex the third optical signalfrom a fourth optical signal when the third optical signal ismultiplexed with the fourth optical signal; and instruct the wavelengthrouter to route the third optical signal from the first optical channelto the first electrical channel.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein: thewavelength router is communicatively coupled to a second electricalchannel; and the control logic is programmed to, when the fieldprogrammable optical array receives a second electrical signal via thesecond electrical channel: instruct the wavelength router to route thesecond optical signal from the second electrical channel to the firstoptical channel, wherein the second optical signal is generated on thesecond electrical channel based at least in part on the secondelectrical signal; and instruct the wavelength division multiplexer togenerate a multiplexed optical signal by multiplexing the first opticalsignal and the second optical signal, wherein the multiplexed opticalsignal is output from the field programmable optical array via the firstoptical channel.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein: the wavelengthrouter is communicatively coupled to a second optical channel; and thecontrol logic is programmed to, when the field programmable opticalarray receives a third electrical signal via the second electricalchannel, instruct the wavelength router to route a fifth optical signalfrom the second electrical channel to the second optical channel,wherein the fifth optical signal is generated on the second electricalchannel based at least in part on the third electrical signal.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein: the field programmable optical arraycomprises: a first modulator coupled on the first electrical channel;and a second modulator coupled on the second electrical channel; and thecontrol logic is programmed to, when the field programmable opticalarray receives the second electrical signal via the second electricalchannel: instruct the first modulator to generate the first opticalsignal on the first electrical channel with a first wavelength; andinstruct the second modulator to generate the second optical signal onthe second electrical channel with a second wavelength, wherein thefirst wavelength and the second wavelength are different to facilitatemultiplexing the first optical signal with the second optical signal. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein: the wavelength router is communicativelycoupled to a second electrical channel; and the control logic isprogrammed to, when the field programmable optical array receives thethird optical signal multiplexed with the fourth optical signal via thefirst optical channel, instruct the wavelength router to route thefourth optical signal from the first optical channel to the secondelectrical channel.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein: the fieldprogrammable optical array comprises: a first photodiode coupled on thefirst electrical channel; and a second photodiode coupled on the secondelectrical channel; and the control logic is programmed to, when thefield programmable optical array receives the third optical signalmultiplexed with the fourth optical signal via the first opticalchannel: instruct the first photodiode to generate a second electricalsignal on the first electrical channel based at least in part on thethird optical signal; and instruct the second photodiode to generate athird electrical signal on the second electrical channel based at leastin part on the fourth optical signal; wherein the field programmableoptical array.
 7. A system comprising: a first field programmableoptical array, wherein the first field programmable optical array iscommunicatively coupled to a first plurality of optical channels; and asecond field programmable optical array, wherein the second fieldprogrammable optical array is: communicatively coupled to a firstplurality of electrical channels to facilitate communicating databetween the second field programmable optical array and a first datautilization circuit via electrical signals; communicatively coupled tothe first plurality of optical channels to facilitate communicating databetween the second field programmable optical array and the first fieldprogrammable optical array via optical signals; and programmable toroute optical signals between the first plurality electrical channelsand the first plurality of optical channels, multiplex two or moreoptical signals received from the first plurality of electricalchannels, de-multiplex optical signals received from the first pluralityof optical channels, or any combination thereof based at least in parton a first data communication priority associated with the first datautilization circuit.
 8. The system of claim 7, comprising a third fieldprogrammable optical array, wherein the third field programmable opticalarray is: communicatively coupled to a second plurality of electricalchannels to facilitate communicating data between the third fieldprogrammable optical array and a second data utilization circuit viaelectrical signals; and communicatively coupled to the first fieldprogrammable optical array via a second plurality of optical channels tofacilitate communicating data between the third field programmableoptical array and the first field programmable optical array via opticalsignals; and programmable to route optical signals between the secondplurality electrical channel and the second plurality of opticalchannels, multiplex two or more optical signals received from the secondplurality of electrical channels, de-multiplex optical signals receivedfrom the second plurality of optical channels, or any combinationthereof based at least in part on a second data communication priorityassociated with the second data utilization circuit.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, comprising a first data center, wherein: the first data centercomprises the first field programmable optical array, the second fieldprogrammable optical array, and the third field programmable opticalarray; the first field programmable optical array is communicativelycoupled to a third plurality of optical channels to facilitatecommunicating data between the first field programmable optical arrayand a second data center; and the first field programmable optical arrayis programmable to adjust bandwidth allocation of the third plurality ofoptical channels based at least in part on the first data communicationpriority associated with the first data utilization circuit and thesecond data communication priority associated with the second datautilization circuit.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein: the first datautilization circuit comprises a first client computing device; thesecond data utilization circuit comprises a second client computingdevice; and the first field programmable optical array is programmableto adjust the bandwidth allocation of the third plurality of opticalchannels to prioritize communication between the first client computingdevice and the second data center over communication between the secondclient computing device and the second data center when the first datacommunication priority associated with the first data utilizationcircuit is higher than the second data communication priority associatedwith the second data utilization circuit.
 11. The system of claim 7,comprising: a third field programmable optical array, wherein the thirdfield programmable optical array is: communicatively coupled to a secondplurality of optical channels; and communicatively coupled to the firstfield programmable optical array via a third plurality of opticalchannels to facilitate communicating data between the third fieldprogrammable optical array and the first field programmable opticalarray; and a second data utilization circuit via electrical signals; anda fourth field programmable optical array, wherein the fourth fieldprogrammable optical array is: communicatively coupled to a secondplurality of electrical channels to facilitate communicating databetween the fourth field programmable optical array and a second datautilization circuit via electrical signals; and communicatively coupledto the second plurality of optical channels to facilitate communicatingdata between the fourth field programmable optical array and the thirdfield programmable optical array via optical signals; and programmableto route optical signals between the second plurality electrical channeland the third plurality of optical channels, multiplex two or moreoptical signals received from the second plurality of electricalchannels, de-multiplex optical signals received from the third pluralityof optical channels, or any combination thereof based at least in parton a second data communication priority associated with the second datautilization circuit.
 12. The system of claim 11, comprising a first datacenter, wherein the first data utilization circuit comprises a firstclient computing device and the first data center comprises the firstfield programmable optical array and the second field programmableoptical array; and a second data center, wherein the second datautilization circuit comprises a second client computing device and thesecond data center comprises the third field programmable optical arrayand the fourth field programmable optical array.
 13. The system of claim11, wherein the first field programmable optical array and the thirdfield programmable optical array are programmable to adjust bandwidthallocation of the second plurality of optical channels based at least inpart on the first data communication priority associated with the firstdata utilization circuit, the second data communication priorityassociated with the second data utilization circuit, or both.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, comprising a fifth field programmable optical array,wherein: the fifth field programmable optical array is: communicativelycoupled to the first field programmable optical array via a fourthplurality of optical channels via optical signals; and communicativelycoupled to a third plurality of electrical channels to facilitatecommunicating data between the fifth field programmable optical arrayand a third data utilization circuit via electrical signals; andprogrammable to route optical signals between the third pluralityelectrical channel and the fourth plurality of optical channels,multiplex two or more optical signals received from the third pluralityof electrical channels, de-multiplex optical signals received from thefourth plurality of optical channels, or any combination thereof basedat least in part on a third data communication priority associated withthe third data utilization circuit; and the first field programmableoptical array and the third field programmable optical array areprogrammable to adjust bandwidth allocation of the third plurality ofoptical channels to prioritize communication between the first datautilization circuit and the second data utilization circuit overcommunication between the third data utilization circuit and the seconddata utilization circuit when the first data communication priorityassociated with the first data utilization circuit is higher than thethird data communication priority associated with the third datautilization circuit.
 15. A field programmable optical array, comprising:a first electrical channel, wherein the first electrical channelreceives a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal whilethe field programmable optical array is communicatively coupled to afirst data utilization circuit; a first modulator coupled on the firstelectrical channel, wherein the first modulator generates a firstoptical signal based at least in part on the first electrical signal andgenerates a second optical signal based at least in part on the secondelectrical signal; a wavelength router communicatively coupled to thefirst electrical channel to facilitate receiving the first opticalsignal and the second optical signal from the first electrical channel;a first optical channel communicatively coupled to the wavelengthrouter; a second optical channel communicatively coupled to thewavelength router; and control logic programmed to: instruct thewavelength router to route the first optical signal to the first opticalchannel to facilitate communicating first data from the first datautilization circuit via the first optical channel; and instruct thewavelength router to route the second optical signal to the secondoptical channel to facilitate communicating first data from the firstdata utilization circuit via the second optical channel.
 16. The fieldprogrammable optical array of claim 15, comprising: a second electricalchannel, wherein the second electrical channel receives a thirdelectrical signal while the field programmable optical array iscommunicatively coupled to the first data utilization circuit; a secondmodulator coupled on the second electrical channel, wherein: the secondmodulator generates a third optical signal based at least in part on thethird electrical signal; the wavelength router is communicativelycoupled to the second electrical channel to facilitate receiving thethird optical signal from the second electrical channel; and the controllogic programmed to instruct the wavelength router to route the thirdoptical signal to the first optical channel.
 17. The field programmableoptical array of claim 16, comprising a wavelength division multiplexercoupled on the first optical channel, wherein: the control logic isprogrammed to: instruct the first modulator to generate the firstoptical signal with a first wavelength; instruct the second modulator togenerate the third optical signal with a second wavelength differentfrom the first wavelength; instruct the wavelength router to route thefirst optical signal and the third optical signal to the first opticalchannel; and instruct the wavelength division multiplexer to generate amultiplexed optical signal by multiplexing the first optical signal andthe third optical signal, wherein the multiplexed optical signal isoutput from the field programmable optical array via the first opticalchannel.
 18. A field programmable optical array, comprising: a firstoptical channel, wherein the first optical channel receives a firstoptical signal and a second optical signal while the field programmableoptical array is communicatively coupled to an optical transceiver; awavelength router communicatively coupled to the first optical channelto facilitate receiving the first optical signal and the second opticalsignal from the first optical channel; a first electrical channelcommunicatively coupled to the wavelength router; a second electricalchannel communicatively coupled to the wavelength router; control logicprogrammed to: instruct the wavelength router to route the first opticalsignal to the first electrical channel; and instruct the wavelengthrouter to route the second optical signal to the second electricalchannel; a first photodiode coupled on the first electrical channel,wherein the first photodiode generates a first electrical signal basedat least in part on the first optical signal to facilitate communicatingfirst data to a first data utilization circuit via the first electricalchannel; and a second photodiode coupled on the second electricalchannel, wherein the second photodiode generate a second electricalsignal based at least in part on the second optical signal to facilitatecommunicating second data to the first data utilization circuit or asecond data utilization circuit via the second electrical channel. 19.The field programmable optical array of claim 18, comprising awavelength division multiplexer coupled on the first optical channel,wherein: the first optical channel receives a multiplexed optical signalgenerated by multiplexing the first optical signal and the secondoptical signal; and the control logic is programmed to instruct thewavelength division multiplexer to determine the first optical signaland the second optical signal by de-multiplexing the multiplexed opticalsignal based at least in part on a first wavelength of the first opticalsignal and a second wavelength of the second optical signal.
 20. Thefield programmable optical array of claim 18, comprising a secondoptical channel, wherein: the second optical channel receives a thirdoptical signal while the field programmable optical array iscommunicatively coupled to the optical transceiver; the wavelengthrouter is communicatively coupled to the second optical channel tofacilitate receiving the third optical signal from the second opticalchannel; and the control logic programmed to instruct the wavelengthrouter to route the third optical signal to the first electricalchannel.